L: Eric Amundsen; R: Mitch Amundsen. On set, July 25th, 2011. All images © Baron Wolman
The feature film “ODD THOMAS” is currently being shot in Santa Fe. The name is not the odd part – for me there were several unexpected and odd coincidences. First, Eric Amundsen, the film crew’s Digital Imaging Technician emailed me about the possibility of buying a copy of “The Rolling Stone Years” in Santa Fe. He had seen the photo of Janis Joplin playing pool in her Larkspur, California home in the summer double issue of Rolling Stone. We exchanged emails and Eric invited me to the set to watch the filming. Second, the location was the radio studios of Hutton Broadcasting here in Santa Fe, the offices of which are decorated with my photographs! Third, it turns out that Eric and his brother Mitch, the film’s Director of Photography, “were raised in Larkspur [California], played pool on Janis’s table in West Baltimore, listened to lots of San Francisco music and stared at your pictures.” And I lived for years in Mill Valley, the town directly adjacent to Larkspur.
It was fascinating to watch the movie being made, in particular because this movie is being shot entirely digitally. The lenses look the same, the cameras don’t. I exchanged “war” stories with the crew over the catered lunch, then watched how Eric works with the huge digital files, and began to understand how they are managed and transmitted. All fascinating stuff. Everybody on the set was hugely hospitable. Now I think I want to make a movie. Is this a great world or what…!!!
